Progressive Politics in Minnesota, the Nation, and the World

Gun Inaction Must Have Consequences

The dialogue is familiar. The arguments the same. The results predictable.

Guns in America is a serious and deadly problem. This type of problem only exists here. It only occurs here. It only succeeds here.

The NRA is perceived to be protecting the individual right to bear arms. That is a falsehood. The NRA is a lobby arm for gun manufacturers. They do not care about hunters, sportsmen, recreational gun users. They ONLY care about selling guns and the right to sell guns with the least amount of difficulty.

I have heard Republicans rail against the use of labor dues as political weapons. But their own equivalent is the NRA - which uses dues from its members to essentially buy votes in Congress....and hold them hostage.

Nobody wants to eliminate the Second Amendment. The Amendment, itself, is not the problem. The problem is the constant war against any restriction of gun sales of even the smallest nature by the NRA. Even the restrictions that have been there in the past have been targeted for removal by this gun lobby.

I'm sick of it. I have blogged about guns and the need for changes for several years. And, predictably, gun trolls are on watch to make sure I am properly chastised for thinking such evil thoughts.

Funny, how gun advocates make argument after argument about why unrestricted gun sales are so vital - yet, very seldom do I EVER hear them talk about the victims of these shootings as worthy of comment.

Guns over people. That is the road we travel. People die and the chorus of gun protection is immediate and swift.

Thoughts and prayers. The phrase has been uttered so often that it is now meaningless. There is a gun sold for every prayer uttered. And somewhere another person dies at the hand of a gun for every sympathetic thought.

I fully realize that there is not one answer to this. Mental health is essential to the conversation - buy why do we not fully fund this?

Counselors in the schools would seem to be a necessary help. But counseling is the last thing that gets funded and our schools often go without because of more budget cuts.

Programs about bullying should be on the list. But Christian groups fight it as if it makes them a target - without considering the victims.

But guns laws. That is the toughest nut to crack. It has become a type of sacred order for the Republican Party. You must be anti-abortion and pro-gun to get anywhere in the Party of Lincoln. It is an absolute. Guns and fetuses get equal protection - almost as if they are the same.

And it would seem that the only solution that has any hope of making inroads into this issue is for Republicans to pay a political price. Obviously, they cannot be persuaded, because that would cost them contributions. And worse, they could be a target for a primary challenge.

Yes, Republicans are too far gone. They have sold out to the gun lobby. And there is no purchase price big enough to get them back - because the NRA would just match it anyway.

No, people like Jason Lewis, Erik Paulsen, and Tom Emmer must face defeat. Tim Walz and Collin Peterson must be held accountable for their NRA money as well. This problem will NEVER go away until the NRA is challenged head on.

The National Rifle Association protects evil. That is what I have come to believe. The membership is not evil, but they have been duped into being complicit.

The media message to youth is that the government has failed the people lost in the Florida shooting. The truth is that society has failed them. Finger pointing at the FBI and local law enforcement is futile and counter-productive.

There is talk of a measure that will grant a new class of restraining order. One that can be issued by families. This is likely to gain traction and based on the words they use to roll it out, I may well be a strong advocate.

The talk falls short though. It falls short because there is no discussion of holding families accountable for their out-of-control children. Parenting is a complicated topic. Far too many families are ill-equipped to deal with profoundly troubled kids. Getting them labeled with a mental illness is costly and cumbersome. Anybody familiar with mental illness knows that the process is completely futile unless the patient is devoted to, and willing to cooperate with, the process.

The chatter falls short because there is a class of youth who belong to gangs and 'the wrong people.' Parents are aware of their 15 year old's access to a weapon and likely are unable to gain control of the weapon themselves. These families need to seek out the assistance of local law enforcement to confiscate the weapon from children who are simply out-of-their-control. If a family is aware of their child's fondness for weapons and fails to act, it can be argued that they become complicit as an accessory to the violence that child may exhibit. I don't know what words to use in the law--state law--not federal law. But this is a failure of community and not a law enforcement only problem.

Ford

02/16/18 19:24

"...fund this..." Dave, fund what exactly?

The NRA takes the heat from your arguments but the real problem is reality. The reality that there are more guns here than people. Lawmakers have been crafting words that try to circumvent the reality that there are more guns than people and the SCOTUS seems to think those particular words are a problem.

Do you have even the slightest notion of the civil war that would ensue if Bloomberg runs and decides to confiscate guns? Does the nightly news inform you in any way? Does history inform you in any way? Does the reality of a door-to-door confiscation inform you in any way?

Unfortunately, the 4th estate, the media, has become complicit in the dramatic reenactments of the zombie apocalypse on a monthly basis. These are copy cat shooters hoping for their chance to be heard and respected. Yes, that IS what they want...respect. What they want and what they get are two different things. I would pray that the next shooter that steps up to this copy cat nightmare be faced at the door by a 9mm ready and waiting to send them directly to hell without hesitation.

More laws? Talk of abusing the mentally ill with even more pain? No mental illness law would have stopped this guy. The FBI was virtually helpless to step in and do something because they can and do get called to intervene when there is no crime. How does that happen Dave? We enjoy Due Process in America (unless it is a me-too-er).

We have witnessed several days of media dramatizing exactly what mistakes this guy made that could have got him caught. Guess the next guy won't do that huh? I don't need to know this stuff, you don't need to know it. The next shooter WANTS to know the details and they replay media reports over-and-over-and-over until they come up with their plan.

I'm not kidding about the Zombie Apocalypse either. I think the LasVega casino shooter was doing his own version of the famous game.

Hollywood plays a major role in making insanely violent videos entertaining. The military actually uses some of these violent games to help condition soldiers for violent battles. Seriously? And we give these same tools to children to learn too! What can possibly go wrong with their mental health?

You go make all the laws you want. Until you FIX what is broken, we just have more laws that don't work.

School security... Wow! Anemic reactions to this violence is no solution. Tens of thousand of facilities to protect and no real good way to do that. This week's nightmare took place on a campus that is likely the size of most just like it all over the country--a city block with dozens of entrances. He took an Uber to the scene! Really? When do you intend to outlaw Uber?

Make your set of words very carefully Dave. And watch them go down in flames at the SCOTUS. Meanwhile, the accelerating trends continue while you argue for more foolishness!